In a University news release[5], Tamara Elliott Rogers, vice
president for alumni affairs and development, announced today that Harvard’s
cash receipts from donors totaled $639 million in the fiscal year ended last
June 30—up 7 percent from $597 million in cash receipts during fiscal 2010, and
the third-highest total in Harvard’s history. Gift receipts were essentially unchanged from
fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2010[6], so the most recent growth represents a recovery
from the effects of the financial crisis and recession during late 2008 and the
following year.

The University’s financial statement reports current-use
gifts separately from capital funds designated for endowment[7] (in the fiscal 2010 report, see footnote 17). During the past few
years of budgetary constraint, deans have particularly emphasized the value of
current-use giving. According to the news release, current-use gifts rose 12
percent to $277 million in fiscal 2011 from $248 million in the prior year.
Because that $248 million total for fiscal 2010 represented a sharp decline in current-use giving from the $291
million received in fiscal 2009, the more recent recovery will be very welcome on
campus. Capital giving—designated for the endowment—apparently held steady (the
figure for fiscal 2010 was $241 million), but final figures for such gifts, for sponsored grants other than those from the federal government, and for other minor
items (all of which figure in the consolidated gifts figure) will be disclosed
in the annual financial report, to be published at the end of the month.

The cash receipts figure published today represents both
current-use gifts made during the year and payments on pledges and other
commitments entered into during earlier years. These figures do not indicate the volume of new gift
commitments and pledges, an internal metric that University fundraisers use to
track current philanthropic conditions.

“We are fortunate to have a dedicated community of alumni and friends
who are unwavering in their support of the University,” Rogers said in the news
release. “They are loyal, they are passionate, and they are generous, and, for
that, we are profoundly grateful.” She noted, further, that although the
University continues to plan for an eventual capital campaign, no final decisions
have been made about the timing or other details, adding: “We continue to make progress
in the planning process, which includes academic and financial planning and
prioritization.” In that light, it is
unclear whether the newly reported gifts received will count in whole or
in part toward any ultimate capital-campaign total.